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View from the Wing [VFTW] discussions

View from the Wing [VFTW] discussions

Old Apr 23, 2015, 9:07 am
  #301  
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Originally Posted by nsx
Gary is getting more criticism than I've ever seen in the comments section of that post: http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....ge-1/#comments

The combination of non-informative/clickbait post titles and truncated RSS/email text is alienating loyal readers much more than either factor could alone.

I always thought that blogs would overtake discussion forums like FT, but practices like this create quite an opportunity to capture or recapture readership.

The one useful aspect of the new BoardingArea layout is the list of recent comments. I go straight to that and ignore everything else. That makes the site work almost like a forum on FT.
The RSS/email issue appears to be mentioned in every post he makes these days (I was just looking at his take on the LH F award space post and noticed the griping).
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Old Apr 23, 2015, 11:57 am
  #302  
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AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

I am the biggest sucker in the world.

Are There Limits to What an Immigration Officer Can Ask You? This One Found Out the Hard Way.

I am thinking, oh my, I have always wondered what the limits of immigration officials are in terms of questioning and why they sometimes ask random questions. Gary is the Thought Leader in Travel, so here comes some serious information about why they sometimes do that, what it means and what the limits are.

Nope. Just a link to a BS story about some woman in India getting hit on by an Indian immigration official.

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....-the-hard-way/

<banging head into keyboard>

ETA, I said so in the comments, but apparently he's tiring of the criticisms:



ETA: it appears my comment was eventually posted.

Last edited by kokonutz; Apr 23, 2015 at 5:58 pm
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Old Apr 23, 2015, 5:28 pm
  #303  
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Apparently you can ask him things today.

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....to-answer-you/

Not that I'd expect to see a bunch of EM&PR regulars show up in that thread, though...

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Old Apr 23, 2015, 6:06 pm
  #304  
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Originally Posted by eponymous_coward
Apparently you can ask him things today.

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....to-answer-you/

Not that I'd expect to see a bunch of EM&PR regulars show up in that thread, though...

Looks like plenty have already asked about the new format.
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Old Apr 26, 2015, 9:01 pm
  #305  
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This is very on purpose.

Woman Cleaning Aircraft at New York JFK Stole 1500 Mini-Bottles of Liquor. She Could Have Avoided Jail With This One Simple Trick.
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Old Apr 26, 2015, 10:12 pm
  #306  
 
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This blog has become an embarrassment to its former self.
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Old Apr 27, 2015, 3:04 am
  #307  
 
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Could be. But I thought the blog I used to know as VFTW and now think of as GTL (Great Thought Leader) was above such inside jokes, and might instead focus on a topic like travel disruption--timely given the circumstances in Nepal and surrounding areas--instead of dredging up a post that, unless you're in on the (possible) joke, just looks as if he's making fun of a minimum wage employee with probably two bad habits, kleptomania and alcoholism.

But, of course, when you fly first class, have high status with tons of hotel chains, and are a world-renowned food critic (I heard Tom Sietsema gave GTL an ultimatum, this town isn't big enough for the two of us, so GTL headed to Austin), that's easy to do.
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Old Apr 27, 2015, 9:00 am
  #308  
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People are talking about the 'joke' in the comments.

To be clear, is the 'joke' that IC RA's get minibar privileges?

Or is it that IC RA's get minibar privileges but then the minibars are often not stocked with minis?

Or is the joke the misuse of the word 'irony'?

Or is the joke that Gary is poking his thumb in the eyes of all the readers who have been complaining about click bait by posting such an extreme click bait post?

Whichever, are these really jokes?
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Old Apr 27, 2015, 9:51 am
  #309  
 
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For me what's interesting is how many people think they're oh-so-sophisticated and yet, in reality, they're not at all.

A couple of you hit the nail on the head. Gary's most definitely making fun of people who hate his "click bait" titles, and at that level the post is pretty funny. That's the inside joke here . . . and, of course, most of us here already "get" that.

At another level of analysis, as also already pointed out above, there's an unfortunate juxtaposition of a minimum-wage worker (evidently with several real-life issues) with someone who jets around the world with Royal Ambassador status from Intercontinental. I don't imagine that there's any malice intended here, but the juxtaposition does seem more than a bit unfortunate.

There's also clearly an element of simply sticking a thumb in the eyes of all those we-hate-click-bait readers out there.

And then a lot of folks in the comments just take themselves too seriously . . . which ironically just adds to the joke and makes it funnier.

The real irony here? I'm one of those who missed the joke! I've gotten so used to so many of Gary's very skippable posts that I saw the first line of the title and then moved on without reading or even noticing the second line, which is where the joke is.
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Old Apr 27, 2015, 9:55 am
  #310  
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Originally Posted by FallenPlat
Gary's most definitely making fun of people who hate his "click bait" titles, and at that level the post is pretty funny.
We're making progress: He has noticed our irritation. I'll settle for that, since I trust Gary's judgment.
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Old Apr 28, 2015, 7:08 am
  #311  
 
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Originally Posted by nsx
We're making progress: He has noticed our irritation. I'll settle for that, since I trust Gary's judgment.
Or not...

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....omment-3917039

(debated putting this in the click-bait thread)

Starts off mentioning the continual debates over the behavior of children on airliners, whether they belong in J/F, etc. So you'd think this must be some situation where an airline crash was caused by unruly kids.

The post does link to an article about an airplane crash in Australia....of a Cessna 310 (which is a twin-piston engine general aviation plane holding a maximum of 6 people including the pilot).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_310

The pilot actually blamed both children who were "excited and a little disruptive" and a front seat passenger who kept coughing. But it also notes the pilot purposely decided not to put the gear down at the point in the pre-landing checklist where it was listed and skipped the last-minute mnemonic to remind oneself to check the gear and other final items.

In any case, pretty hard to see the connection with screaming kids on an airliner - certainly not the "Is this the knockout punch" headline.
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Old Apr 28, 2015, 10:52 am
  #312  
 
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Originally Posted by 84fiero
Or not...

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....omment-3917039

(debated putting this in the click-bait thread)

Starts off mentioning the continual debates over the behavior of children on airliners, whether they belong in J/F, etc. So you'd think this must be some situation where an airline crash was caused by unruly kids.

The post does link to an article about an airplane crash in Australia....of a Cessna 310 (which is a twin-piston engine general aviation plane holding a maximum of 6 people including the pilot).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessna_310

The pilot actually blamed both children who were "excited and a little disruptive" and a front seat passenger who kept coughing. But it also notes the pilot purposely decided not to put the gear down at the point in the pre-landing checklist where it was listed and skipped the last-minute mnemonic to remind oneself to check the gear and other final items.

In any case, pretty hard to see the connection with screaming kids on an airliner - certainly not the "Is this the knockout punch" headline.
Standard GTL post: poor analysis of the clear meaning of the report of the crash, which as you noted, indicates that some blame could be assigned both to the children and to the coughing passenger (and a fair reading of the report indicates more blame assigned to the coughing passenger). And the connection between a Cessna crash and normal commercial airline operations seems strained at best given the normal skill gap between commercial and general aviation pilots. But, as is also standard GTL procedure, the facts must fit Gary's narrative--in this case, screaming kids on planes are bad and here's a situation that proves just how bad.

He does this pretty frequently. Such as his post a couple of weeks ago about BA offering cheap enough fares that would deny otherwise qualified elites lounge access. It was only deep in the post that he mentioned that, of course, US domestic airlines don't even offer lounge access to elite members independent of a qualifying ticket (generally international First) or lounge membership through payment or a card. And it was never mentioned that mid-level BA Silver status accomplishes what AA elite status does not--lounge access, even on domestic tickets, no matter the cost. Obviously, there's a trade-off, since AA elite status earns flight upgrades not available in the BA program, but it's the kind of information that might be useful to someone who wants AA lounge access and who could credit some flights towards BA.

But, of course, BA, like DL and WN and IHG and Hilton, is bad in the GTL narrative. Until, of course, there's a card with a referral fee that he needs to push--then the negative comments somehow get downplayed for the duration of the offer.

Last edited by lwildernorva; Apr 28, 2015 at 7:02 pm
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Old Apr 29, 2015, 7:17 am
  #313  
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Full RSS feed is back. But one has to re-opt in.

Have to keep that 'reader engagement' (presumably tech babble for 'website clicks') up.
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Old Apr 30, 2015, 9:03 am
  #314  
 
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This morning, Gary posted a relatively informative piece on how to get around the new restrictions on the shuttle bus to the LAX In 'n Out. Hopefully, this begins a series of unique and informative posts that differentiate our Thought Leader in Travel from the other blogs.

I'm hoping for more white guy reviews of Thai restaurants and bootleg discount codes intended for the handicapped.
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Old Apr 30, 2015, 12:00 pm
  #315  
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The current column was ghostwritten by Emily Litella: BA redemption trick explained and why you don't want to use it, so... Never mind!
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